Sometimes I hate organic gardening. You raise baby plants from seed, watch them grow, revel in their first flowers and forming fruit only to watch your baby and harvest succumb to a pest. The tediousness of picking bugs off plants, cutting vine borers out of squash stems at some point every year gets overwhelming. I want to throw the spade in and give up. And then I stumble upon one of the good guys and I am reminded of the beauty and balance of organic gardening.
The past couple of weeks I have found three praying mantises in my garden. I find them amazing insects. Those big buggy eyes and triangle heads may be a face only an organic gardener can love! Getting a glimpse of these praying mantises makes the hard work and heartbreak of organic gardening worthwhile. I know that if I took the easy way out and drenched my plants in insecticides I would not have these cool creatures thriving in my backyard.
Definitely thriving.. this mantis is the largest I've ever seen! They are eating well! I'm hoping this means that come spring my garden will be overrun with baby mantis.
Knowing they have set-up residence in my garden and are battling the bugs makes me smile. I am not in the battle alone! And perhaps they are smiling back at me :)
Sometimes I hate organic gardening. You raise baby plants from seed, watch them grow, revel in their first flowers and forming fruit only to watch your baby and harvest succumb to a pest. The tediousness of picking bugs off plants, cutting vine borers out of squash stems at some point every year gets overwhelming. I want to throw the spade in and give up. And then I stumble upon one of the good guys and I am reminded of the beauty and balance of organic gardening. 
The past couple of weeks I have found three praying mantises in my garden. I find them amazing insects. Those big buggy eyes and triangle heads may be a face only an organic gardener can love! Getting a glimpse of these praying mantises makes the hard work and heartbreak of organic gardening worthwhile. I know that if I took the easy way out and drenched my plants in insecticides I would not have these cool creatures thriving in my backyard. 
Definitely thriving.. this mantis is the largest I've ever seen! They are eating well! I'm hoping this means that come spring my garden will be overrun with baby mantis. 
Knowing they have set-up residence in my garden and are battling the bugs makes me smile. I am not in the battle alone! And perhaps they are smiling back at me :)
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